Abstract
Background: Occupational exposure to blood and body secretions poses a significant risk of COVID-19, HIV, HCV, and HBV among healthcare workers (HCWs). Assessment of this exposure is necessary for optimized planning and policy-making measures. This study aimed to assess the exposure to occupational risk factors among emergency HCWs. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on HCWs working in 3 educational hospitals affiliated with Arak University of Medical Sciences. The study sample included all HCWs working in emergency wards who met inclusion criteria. The data were collected using a valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed through analytical tests in SPSS software. Results: The 116 studied HCWs included 97 nurses and 19 physicians and medical specialties. The mean age was 31.06 with 4.7 years of work experience (207.8 hours per month) in working at the patient bedside. The results indicated that needlestick injuries have a significant positive and negative relationship with job history (p=0.001) and month-averaged working hours (p=0.012), respectively. 96.6% stated that wearing gloves is not necessary, 59.9% stated that they do not use protective glasses due to a decrease in their vision, while 50% did not use gowns due to the lack of gowns in the ward. 63.8%, 57.8%, 50%, 63.8%, 56% and 54.3% of the participants expressed shift work, a high number of hospitalized patients in the crowded ward, the need for high-speed working, high working load, an increase in working hours, and low working consent as the most important factors leading to an increment in blood transmitted diseases, respectively. Conclusion: It is necessary to design national surveillance systems to report exposed cases and develop measures and strategic plans considering the high effects of exposure to blood and body secretions.
Highlights
Healthcare workers (HCWs) include nurses, physicians, laboratory technicians and other supporting forces who directly or indirectly provide healthcare services for the patients
Results of a study on the epidemiology of needlestick injuries (NSIs) among healthcare workers (HCWs) in two German hospitals indicated that 500,000 injuries occur annually in Germany [10]
The sample size included all physicians and emergency medicine residents as well as all nurses working in the emergency wards with different university grades
Summary
Healthcare workers (HCWs) include nurses, physicians, laboratory technicians and other supporting forces who directly or indirectly provide healthcare services for the patients. Occupational exposure to pathogenic factors may occur in different ways, including percutaneous injury (such as penetration of a sharp object or needle into the skin) and mucous membrane exposure (such as eye, nose, and mouth). A study by the world health organization WHO estimated that 2 million, 0.9 million and 170 000 cases of exposure to HBV, HCV and HIV occurper year, respectively, resulting in a high number of infections in addition to the stress, depression, and management costs [6, 7]. Occupational exposure to blood and body secretions poses a significant risk of COVID-19, HIV, HCV, and HBV among healthcare workers (HCWs). Assessment of this exposure is necessary for optimized planning and policy-making measures. This study aimed to assess the exposure to occupational risk factors among emergency HCWs
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